One-way ticket: Lawrence no surprise as Jags starter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Urban Meyer assumed Trevor Lawrence would be his starting quarterback long before he even took the Jaguars job.

But Meyer insisted Lawrence earn the spot, whether his goal was to send a message to his young team or set a tone for his NFL tenure. So Meyer staged a sometimes laughable “competition” during offseason workouts, training camp and the preseason.

Meyer finally ended the charade Wednesday by naming Lawrence the team’s starter for the season opener against the Texans on Sept. 12 in Houston, one of the least surprising decisions in franchise history.

Meyer gave Lawrence the nod over thirdyear pro Gardner Minshew after two preseason games and a month of training camp.

Meyer expects Lawrence will never have to earn a starting job in the NFL again.

“You can capitalize that if you want. Underline it. Cap it,” Meyer said.

Now, Lawrence will try to become the first quarterback selected No. 1 overall to win his first NFL start since the Texans’ David Carr in 2002. Among those who have failed to do so since: Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield.

Lawrence, the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and Minshew, a two-year starter for the Jaguars, split repetitions with the firstteam offense during camp. Meyer wanted “healthy competition” at every position, including quarterback.

Nonetheless, just about everyone outside Minshew’s camp expected Lawrence to be the Jaguars’ starter in Houston.

Lawrence was the top college prospect in nearly a decade, and outperformed Minshew at every turn during camp.

Meyer also said Lawrence will start the Jaguars’ preseason finale against the Cowboys on Sunday.

“It doesn’t really change anything, though,” Lawrence said. “Still got the same task in front of us, got to get a lot better, individually, as a team, as an offense. Just looking forward to going to work this week. It brings some clarity, which is nice, going forward. But it really doesn’t change much, but, yeah, I’m really excited for the opportunity, grateful for it.”

Lawrence has completed 20 of 32 passes for 184 yards in two exhibitions, both losses. He started each game, was sacked three times, and led the offense to just a field goal in six series.

“It’s frustrating, but also we just got to stick together and keep playing,” Lawrence said.

“We’re going to figure it out. I’m really confident in that. We got a bunch of guys that are putting the work in and we’re going to do everything it takes to get on the right track.”

Lawrence went 34-2 at Clemson, recording the third-best winning percentage by a starting quarterback (minimum 30 starts) in college football since 1978. He finished his college career undefeated in regular-season play and led the Tigers to the national championship as a freshman in 2018.

After a slow start to the offseason — Lawrence had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in February and then was hampered by a strained hamstring in organized team activities — he looked every bit as advertised in camp.

Teammates raved about his arm, his mobility, his touch on deep passes and his command of the huddle.